Readout of the President’s Call with Governor Pat McCrory of North Carolina and Briefing from Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco

The President spoke by phone today with Governor Pat McCrory of North Carolina to discuss the ongoing response to Hurricane Matthew and the flooding across the state. The President signed a major disaster declaration for North Carolina yesterday, and last week signed major disaster declarations for Florida and Georgia. The President reiterated that all necessary federal resources be directed to help these impacted states respond effectively to the storm. The President also expressed that his thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives from the storm, and for all those who have been affected. The President continues to stress that the response to the storm is far from over and the danger continues from flooding for the coming days, and urges those in the potential path of the flooding to continue to listen to local officials.

Earlier today, the President also received a briefing from Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco on the impacts from Hurricane Matthew and ongoing federal response and recovery efforts. Recovery efforts are underway in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and the response to record flooding continues in North Carolina, including thousands of water rescues supported by FEMA, Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and National Park Service responders. As of this morning, more than 1,500 FEMA staff including Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams (DSAT) and Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMAT) are deployed to impacted states in support of response and recovery efforts for Matthew. Additionally, FEMA is transporting prepositioned commodities to affected areas at the request of states. More than 5.2 million meals, 3.7 million liters of water, and 72,000 blankets were staged before the storm for state, tribal, and local officials to distribute to individuals should they need them. The President will continue to be regularly briefed on the response.